A Gainesville man is being held without bond in the Hall County Jail on charges stemming from a Hall County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the sexual abuse of a child who is younger than ten.
“Hall County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Service Unit deputies arrested Richard A. Garcia-Hernandez, 45, on Thursday morning at his residence on Waldrip Drive,” sheriff’s office spokesman Derreck Booth said Tuesday. “Garcia-Hernandez is charged with aggravated sodomy, sexual battery, grooming a child for indecent purposes and electronically furnishing obscene material to a minor, all felonies.”
Booth said deputies first learned of the allegations on June 22, after the female victim disclosed the abuse to a family member. The case was assigned to investigators, who obtained the warrants for Garcia-Hernandez’s arrest on July 1.
“According to the preliminary investigation, the crimes occurred between May 2025 and the end of January 2026 at Garcia-Hernandez’s residence,” Booth added. “In addition to the physical abuse, Garcia-Hernandez showed the victim pornographic videos on his phone. He also allowed her to play the game Roblox on his phone as leverage for her compliance. Garcia-Hernandez knew the victim, who is younger than 10, before the abuse began.”
Garcia-Hernandez is also being held on an immigration detainer.